Overseas Vietnamese Women in USA Preserves Mother Tongue
	Vietnamese Woman Preserves Mother Tongue in a Foreign Land

A mother’s heartfelt connection to Vietnamese language

"My father used to teach me Vietnamese songs. No matter where I go, they are always ingrained in my mind," Dr. Van shared about her childhood on a television program in 2023.

Dr. Tran Hong Van is the founder of VietSchool, an organization dedicated to promoting the preservation of the Vietnamese language and culture. (Photo: Tran Hong Van)

She has continually sought ways to pass on this love for the mother tongue to her daughter, though it has not always been easy. She recalled when Ivy resisted learning Vietnamese, saying: "Learning Vietnamese is boring!"

This resistance made Dr. Van reflect: "How can I keep Vietnamese alive for my child?" She started seizing every opportunity in their daily lives, whether during outings or explaining simple things around them, to help Ivy naturally develop bilingual thinking.

Another touching moment came when Dr. Van's mother-in-law, Nguyen Thi Sang, shared: “I have nine grandchildren, and eight of them live abroad. Every time I call and they can’t speak Vietnamese, it saddens me. When they can, it brings me so much joy. Whenever Ivy says, “Con moi ba xoi com” (I invite you, Grandma, to eat), my heart fills with happiness.”

From these small moments, Dr. Van realized that teaching Vietnamese was about passing on a language and nurturing family bonds. This realization motivated her to initiate various projects to help Vietnamese families maintain their mother tongue. One of her most successful efforts was the "Reading with Your Child" project, which provided 78 books and videos to 100 Vietnamese families in Australia.

Additionally, Dr. Van has been actively involved in numerous activities to preserve the Vietnamese language within Australia’s Vietnamese community. VietSpeech, a project funded by the Australian Research Council, of which Dr. Van is a member, has produced the handbook “Multilingual Children.” This resource, available for free to Vietnamese families abroad, covers topics such as the benefits of maintaining the mother tongue, strategies for helping children retain their native language, methods for teaching Vietnamese through everyday communication, and a comparison of the English and Vietnamese language systems for children.

In October 2021, Dr. Van took the initiative to contact SBS Vietnamese, proposing the production of the "Maintaining Vietnamese Together" program, which has since been broadcast weekly. This program has become a platform for Vietnamese families in Australia and other countries to share their stories about preserving the Vietnamese language, while also featuring world-leading experts in multilingual child language development to discuss relevant topics.

With support from the Consulate General of Vietnam in Sydney, Dr. Van established VietSchool in March 2023. The organization aims to promote the learning of the Vietnamese language and culture through language classes and interactive programs such as “SuperSpeech” and “Reading with Your Child.”

“I want to support families in preserving the Vietnamese language for their children. Keeping the language alive is a way of affirming our identity and strengthening our sense of community,” said Dr. Van.

Inspiring love for mother tongue among Vietnamese youth

In the US, the story of Ngo Kim Viet, a Maryland resident, is touching and full of dedication. Since 1995, she has been an "accidental teacher" after noticing that her nephews and nieces could not speak Vietnamese. Determined to pass on the mother tongue, she began teaching Vietnamese via Zoom, especially after realizing that her nephews and nieces needed interpreters during trips to Vietnam.

Ngo Kim Viet has participated in Vietnamese language classes for Vietnamese-American children since 1995. (Photo: Ngo Kim Viet)

Starting with limited knowledge of Vietnamese, her nephew, Tuong Long, now proudly shares: “After just a few months of studying with my aunt, I can read Vietnamese fluently.”

"Among my Vietnamese friends, I am now the best at Vietnamese. My aunt not only teaches me the language but also introduces me to Vietnamese culture. Learning Vietnamese has helped me a lot. As a child, I barely understood the language, even though I lived with my parents. My wife, who is also Vietnamese, doesn’t speak it either, and at work, I only use English.

Once, my company asked me to translate for a Vietnamese customer who could not speak English, but I did not know how. During a charity trip to Sapa with my friends in Vietnam, I even had to hire a translator. Now, I am determined to master Vietnamese so I can translate for my wife and friends, and when I have kids, I will teach them Vietnamese," shared Long.

Kim Viet does not just teach her relatives. She also volunteers to teach Vietnamese to young Vietnamese-American children in various families and through church scouting movements. She believes that through small lessons, she can teach the mother tongue and instill cultural values, helping younger generations maintain their Vietnamese identity.

"My method of teaching Vietnamese is through lessons about history, traditional culture, festivals, and iconic Vietnamese images. That way, I can educate them about our national traditions, making them easier to absorb while fostering a deeper understanding of our cultural life. This also helps promote the image of Vietnam and its people to the world," shared Kim Viet.

The stories of Dr. Tran Hong Van and Ngo Kim Viet highlight the importance of preserving the Vietnamese language within overseas communities. Every spoken word and written character passed down is more than just language, as it is an act of connecting with culture, family, and roots. These seemingly simple actions are contributing to the promotion of Vietnamese cultural identity worldwide.

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